My Account issues

If you are asked to add a service that you already have access to, please do not try to add the service or request a PIN. We hope to resolve the issue soon and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Homelessness advice and support

If you are homeless now, or think you will be homeless soon, the most important thing is to get advice as soon as possible.

This will give us more time to prevent you becoming homeless, or help you to find somewhere else to live, before you do.

There may be things that can be done to prevent you losing your home and becoming homeless.

Get help for yourself

If have been asked to leave and have nowhere to stay tonight, we can help you.

Contact your Homelessness Prevention Officer, if you have one.

Your Homelessness Prevention Officer, will talk you through any support that might be available to you, such as help with a bond (deposit).

If you have a Homelessness Prevention Officer, but don’t have their contact details, call the Housing Options team and they will provide you with your officer's details.

If you haven't contacted us before about having nowhere to stay, please complete the Housing Assistance Referral Portal form:

If you have any difficulty filling in the form call the Housing Options Team and someone can complete this form for you.

Contact

You can contact our Housing Options team by telephone, email, or by completing the Housing Assistance Referral Portal form:

What happens next?

Once you have contacted us, we will offer you an interview with a Housing Pathway Advisor.

During your initial interview, we will ask questions about you and your situation and offer advice and options appropriate to your situation.

Housing assessment

After the initial interview, we may need to arrange to see you again to complete a full housing assessment and agree a personal housing plan.

You will need to bring in all the paperwork to do with your housing problem, so we can give you accurate advice. For example:

  • a tenancy agreement 
  • notice to quit or notice seeking possession
  • court documents
  • arrears letter
  • financial information

The Housing Pathway Advisor will talk to you about your current situation, discuss any difficulties you are having and help you look at your options to either:

  • help you stay in your current home or find alternative accommodation prior to becoming homeless (prevention duty)
  • find alternative housing if you are already homeless (relief duty)

The National Homelessness Advice Service has more information on the personal housing plan process: 

Get help for someone else

If you have seen someone sleeping rough you can refer them to the Housing Options Team:

Temporary accommodation

Your Move on Support Officer can help if:

  • You have been asked to leave temporary accommodation you have been staying in
  • You have problems with the temporary accommodation you are staying in (e.g., repair issue)
  • You have made a successful bid on a property 

Alternatively you can email the Temporary Accommodation Team for advice:

Our responsibilities - Homeless Reduction Act

The Homelessness Reduction Act covers what help we offer to eligible residents who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

Under this Act we must:

  • carry out prevention and relief work for anyone who is threatened with homelessness within the next 56 days
  • provide advice and carry out prevention work, so that wherever possible, people can be supported to remain in their current home
  • offer everyone who is homeless or at risk of homelessness access to meaningful help, irrespective of their priority need status, as long as they are eligible for assistance

Unfortunately, not everyone is eligible for help under the Homelessness Reduction Act; for example, due to immigration status. Even if you aren’t eligible for this help the Council can however still provide advice and signpost to services who may be able to support you.

Advice and support

The following factsheet provides an overview of the steps the council will follow if you apply for assistance as homeless or threatened with homelessness.

If you live outside Oldham you may wish to consider approaching your local council in the first instance, as some housing options may be limited unless you have a ‘local connection’ to an area.